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Rather than diving into analysis and speculation, I began thinking of the history of \u201cCandyman\u201d and what it means to have a black director now at the helm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In France, film directors are known as auteurs. Although screenwriters play crucial parts in the development of a story, they are essentially providing the film with its bones. It is the director, however, that shows the audience what they saw <\/em>while reading the screenwriter\u2019s work. This is why so many directors are celebrated by the media, such as Steven Speilberg or Quentin Tarantino. Then there is Jordan Peele, one of the latest directors that has his name is in the mouth of many. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Peele began as a comedic actor, starring in \u201cMad TV\u201d from 2003 to 2008. Later, he would become better known for the Comedy Central sketch series \u201cKey & Peele\u201d which lasted from 2012 to 2015. Two years after the conclusion of \u201cKey & Peele\u201d he was seen in a new light with the release of his directorial debut, \u201cGet Out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGet Out\u201d tells the story of Chris, a black man who is in an interracial relationship with a white woman named Rose. When he agrees to meet her family in rural Upstate New York, he finds out that Rose\u2019s kind family plays a part in committing unspeakable horrors – literally stealing black bodies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGet Out\u201d is one of many films that helped shift African American cinema to new levels in the present day. In a genre where black characters were killed first nonetheless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Its themes were quickly noted, with many viewers pointing out how it touched on liberal ignorance to how missing African Americans hardly receive coverage. Overall, \u201cGet Out\u201d depicted some of the everyday fears in the African American community and then amplified it. The end result was phenomenal, earning 4 nominations at the Golden Globes and receiving, \u201cBest Original Screenplay.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n After this, Peele released \u201cUs\u201d in 2019, yet again featuring black characters in principal roles. When Adelaide and her family are enjoying a simple vacation, things quickly turn foul when they are confronted with their doppelgangers. Yet again, there was social commentary in which the antagonists of the film, called the Tethered, are believed to represent xenophobic paranoia, if not unfortunate people caught in structural class oppression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is not a stretch to say that Peele\u2019s success is ultimately what caused the creation of, \u201cMa,\u201d a film that did not emerge from his imagination but rather, came from Blumhouse Productions. Blumhouse actually produced <\/em>\u201cGet Out,\u201d and the company wanted its audience to know this, as they placed Peele\u2019s film on the poster. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The premise of \u201cMa\u201d brought on intrigue, with the idea this film was taking the mammy stereotype and turning it on its head. When it comes to stereotypical imagery of African Americans, a mammy is a rotund woman, joyous and helpful as the character Octavia Spencer was portraying. They were of older age, and possessed a great love for white children, hence their maternal name: this is also something Spencer\u2019s character possessed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But in the end, Ma received no awards let alone recognition. Often, reviews would acknowledge that it took a good concept, yet did nothing effective<\/a>. Some pointed out that this was because neither the director or screenwriter weren\u2019t people of color and therefore, the themes found in Peele\u2019s successful, black-driven horror films were greatly absent, which resulted in a weak film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It cannot be denied that African American directors bring their cultural perspective to the films they create, which brings my interest that Peele – among all directors – is attached to the 2020 \u201cCandyman.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I can remember the first time I saw the ’90s \u201cCandyman.\u201d I was much too young and as a result, I felt certain that he was real. If he wasn\u2019t? I wasn\u2019t going to find out. Despite my fear, I was taken in by the story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Its antagonist, the titular Candyman was the son of a slave who ultimately died gruesomely due to a lynch mob. This was the first time I saw a horror film that depicted the harsh realities of slavery, let alone took place in housing projects. However, despite being deemed a superb film to this very day, the original \u201cCandyman\u201d is not without its flaws. \u201cWhat they said to me when they’d read the script was ‘Why are we even having this meeting? You know, this is just good fun.\u201d Rose said in a 1993 interview with The Independent<\/a>, \u201cTheir argument was \u2018why shouldn’t a black actor be a ghost? Why shouldn’t a black actor play Freddy Krueger or Hannibal Lector? If you’re saying that they can’t be, it’s really perverse. This is a horror movie\u2026\u2019\u201d One was Carl Franklin, director of the film \u201cDevil In A Blue Dress.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jordan-peele-oscar-1.png\")
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It is said that the director and screenwriter, Bernard Rose, attended a series of NAACP meetings due to the fact the producers were worried about the subject matter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Official statements from the NAACP cannot be found, but black moviegoers did enjoy the film. However, it should be noted that during this time there had been two black filmmakers <\/em>vocally expressed their disdain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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